When deformable tubing, such as copper tubing, is new or is in use and is in disrepair, it is often necessary to cut the tubing and to form a joint at the cut end. The cut end is flared and then joined by one of various joint forming means to a flared end of a second tube to form the joint. An example of such a joint and method of forming the same is disclosed in the copending patent application Ser. No. 363,958, filed Mar. 31, 1982 in the name of applicant. Generally, a gasket is disposed between the flared ends of the tube to perfect a seal therebetween. It is necessary that the edges of the flared ends of the tubes not cut the gasket. Many prior art methods of flaring tubes include the steps of forcing an end of a tube onto a cone-shaped member causing a great reduction in the wall thickness of the flared end portion. The U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,849,881 and 3,913,364 to Strybel teach such an assembly. The result is a sharp edge at the end of the flared end portion that would cut the gasket. Alternatively, many methods have been devised for forming double walled flares. An example of such a method is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 30,940 to Cowal et al. An end of a deformable tube is forced into a device which buckles the end portion into the tube as the end portion is flared outwardly. This method of flaring a tube has been found to be quite expensive and time-consuming. Further, once a tube is cut, a burr is formed about the inner circumference of the edge of the tube. Prior art methods have required that the burr be ground or sanded from the tube to form a smooth inner surface prior to the flaring operation.
The instant invention provides an apparatus and method for forming a novel tube having a rounded edge which will not cut the gasket and does not require the removal of the burr formed during the cutting of the tube.